Iran celebrates 2,500th birthday

In the sixth century B.C. the warlord Cyrus the Great united the two great tribes of Iran, the Persians and the Medes. A considerable accomplishment, to be sure, but only the beginning of his expansion of an empire that for a while would come to rule over much of Asia and Egypt. Cyrus’ armies dealt ruthlessly with any who stood in their way, but his rule was magnanimous at home: he allowed freedoms for his subjects, was widely praised for his evenhanded justice, and presided over a cultural and scientific renaissance. The dynasty he began came and went, but Cyrus was not forgotten in the land where he was born, modern-day Iran.

On this day, October 15, in 1971, Iran celebrated the 2,500th anniversary of the creation of the Persian Empire. Over the course of the five-day festivities, which started October 12, included festivities, recreations of ancient life, and showcases of Iranian achievements.

The Shah of Iran entertained six hundred guests, houses in a “tent city” of prefabricated luxury apartments built in the middle of the desert, with vast amounts of trees lining the roads in between, in an effort to recreate the look of the ancient city of Persepolis. Dignitaries enjoyed a five and a half hour full-course meal with rare wines and cognac, which one Spanish correspondent who witnessed the event called “the most fabulous party that I ever attended.” He added “That banquet was the expression of the most absolute luxury but also of the most complete refinement. It was the greatest of all the parties of the century and it is very possible that a similar one is never organized again.”